Adaptability of SHRM in the Context of Pakistan

Although the concept is not new in the field of management studies, it is found in literature that an integrated framework of strategic human resource management (SHRM) is needed. Strong HR systems have been developed in Europe and America, but the success of those models in developing countries, typically in Asia and Africa and even in the developed countries of Asia like China and Japan is a big question mark for SHRM researchers. There is a dire need of contextual SHRM models based on local content, taking national culture, local institutional phenomenon, sectoral differences and local dynamic business environments as foundation for the development of HR systems to be successful in Asian countries. This paper highlights the scope of Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM) as a field of study and research and it challenges the universalistic perspective in SHRM, while emphasizing on the contextual perspective. At the outset, this paper, categorically defines and explains the construct of SHRM and highlight the scope, theoretical foundations, origin and evolution of SHRM as a field of research and practice. And finally, the adaptability of SHRM in Pakistani organizations, based on contextual and institutional models, has been illustrated using HRM model proposed by Jackson and Schuler (1995) as a tool.